Jeff Osberg doesn’t waste a whole lot of time worrying about
Golf Association of Philadelphia major championships that got away.
The region’s best mid-amateur player at age 35 figures if he
can just keep giving himself as many opportunities to win those major crowns as
he can, he’ll get his share.
Osberg, playing out of Pine Valley Golf Club, bagged major
No. 5 Thursday, claiming a win in the 115th Golf Association of
Philadelphia’s Open Championship by two shots over a Huntingdon Valley Country
Club layout that was, until this year, Osberg’s home course.
When Osberg captured his first Philadelphia Open title in
2016 at The Ridge at Back Brook, he and father Rick, the 1999 winner, became
the first father-son duo to appear on the trophy. Rick Osberg was one of the
area’s top club pros for many years.
And while Jeff Osberg did not follow in his dad’s footsteps
professionally, the golf talent obviously runs pretty deep in the family. And
the Philadelphia Open is that unique tournament on the GAP schedule that pits
the top amateurs in the region against the Philadelphia Section PGA’s top
professionals.
Osberg added a solid 2-under-par 68 over the 6,859-yard,
par-70 William Flynn design to his opening-round 67 for a 5-under 135 total
that gave him his two-shot edge.
Zac Oakley, a teaching professional at Bidermann Golf Club, dropped
a 50-foot bomb of a birdie putt on the final hole to earn runnerup honors at
3-under 137. Oakley also claimed low-pro honors and the $6,000 check that goes
along with it.
But it wasn’t really close in the end as Osberg, obviously
comfortable playing on a golf course he called home for the last six seasons
before this year, basically ran away with his second Philly Open title.
Osberg also owns a pair of Patterson Cup wins (2010, ’16)
and a BMW Philadelphia Amateur victory in 2014. He was GAP’s William Hyndman
III Player of the Year in 2012 and ’13 and has claimed the Silver Cross Award
in 2010, ’15 and ’16. Pretty sure he’s the best golfer to ever come out of Owen
J. Roberts.
“You never know when you are going to win again,” Osberg
told the GAP website. “I’m happy I’m constantly putting myself in position to
win. As you know, the last couple haven’t gone my way. But I was right there. I
feet like every time I’m teeing it up, I’m competing.
“That’s all you can ask. I was happy to be able to come out
on top. Winning majors is extremely important to me. Hopefully, it’s not my
last.”
Osberg held the lead halfway through the final round of the
GAP Middle-Amateur this spring at Rolling Green Golf Club, like Huntingdon
Valley, a Flynn design, before faltering down the stretch. He reached the final
of the Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall last month, falling to defending
champion Jeremy Wall, 3 and 1, in the scheduled 36-hole final.
Hmm, Rolling Green, Stonewall, Huntingdon Valley. Maybe it’s
just a coincidence that the Pine Valley member is at his best on the toughest
courses. Or not.
Osberg began the day trailing Applebrook Golf Club head pro
Dave McNabb by a shot. But that quickly changed when Osberg bombed his drive on
the 386-yard, par-4 first hole nearly on the green, chipped it close and made a
six-foot birdie putt while McNabb missed his par putt. The two-shot swing gave
Osberg the lead.
McNabb, the Philadelphia Section’s reigning Robert “Skee”
Riegel Senior Player of the Year, drew even with a birdie at the second, but by
the time the pair finished the outgoing nine, Osberg, at 5-under, was two shots
clear of McNabb.
When Osberg drilled a gap wedge to two feet at the 421-yard,
par-4 12th hole and converted the birdie opportunity, he was 6-under
and pulling away.
Osberg had such a big cushion he could afford a double bogey
at the final hole that dropped him back to 5-under.
Like Osberg, Oakley is the son of club pro. His father Peter
was a four-time Philadelphia Section Player of the Year and the unlikely winner
of the 2004 Senior Open Championship, a Champions Tour major.
Zac Oakley’s birdie at the last gave him the best round of
the day, a 3-under 67, which, combined with an opening-round 70, left him alone
in second place, two shots behind Osberg at 3-under 137.
McNabb, who had grabbed the lead with a 4-under 66 in the
opening round, fell back with a 2-over 72 that left him in a tie for third with
the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s John Brennan at 2-under 138. Brennan, a teacher
at Spring-Ford High School, added a solid 2-under 68 to his opening-round 70.
Saucon Valley Country Club’s Matthew Mattare, the 2017
Philadelphia Open winner at Philadelphia Country Club, also fired a 2-under 68
after opening with a 72 to finish in a tie for fifth at even-par 140.
Vince Kwon, playing on his home course at Huntingdon Valley,
added a 1-under 69 to his opening-round 71 to join Mattare at 140. A third
amateur, LuLu Country Club’s Connor McNicholas, rounded out the trio at
even-par with the same splits as Kwon had, adding a 69 Thursday to his
opening-round 71.
Spring-Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz headed a
group of four players tied for eighth place at 1-over 141 as he added a 2-under
68 to his opening-round 73.
Three more amateurs, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club’s Will
Davenport, who won the GAP Middle-Amateur at Rolling Green this spring, DuPont
Country Club’s Matthew Finger and Fox Hill Country Club’s Mariano Medico joined
Steinmetz at 141. All three added a 1-under 69 to an opening-round 72.
George Forster, the 60-something head pro at Radnor Valley
Country Club who always seems to save his best stuff for the Philly Open, added
a 72 to his opening-round 70 to share 12th place with Waynesborough
Country Club amateur Scott Ehrlich at 2-over 142. Ehrlich fired a 2-under 68
after opening with a 74.
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